Bangalore and Mysore to witness water woes this summer
Residents of Bangalore and Mysore should get ready to face water woes this summer as the two cities are staring at a deficit of 4.17 tmc ft of water until May end.
The water left in Cauvery basin can only full fill one-third of Bangalore’s water requirement and the rest two-third of the city’s water requirement is overlooked.
However, the Supreme court said that drinking water takes precedence over irrigation. This was in response to Tamil Nadu’s demand for 6 tmc ft of water for irrigation purpose.
Karnataka was asked to provide detailed information on its drinking water requirements for the next four months in the Cauvery basin and also the quantum of water released to Tamil Nadu in the past 20 years.
According to sources, the report submitted by the legal team about the water availability for Bangalore and Mysore is 18.43 tmc ft against its requirement of 22.6 tmc ft till May which includes providing 600 cusecs drinking water to Bangalore a day, amounting to 1.4 tmc ft a month, aggregating to 5.6 tmc ft of water till May end.
The Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal (CWDT) final award seeks constitution of the Cauvery Management Board which will be under the Centre’s control. Thus all reservoirs in the Cauvery basin: Krishnarajasagar, Kabini, Harangi and Hemavathy (Karnataka), Lower Bhavani, Amravathy and Mettur (Tamil Nadu) and Banasurasagar (Kerala) will be managed by the Board.
If the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal comes into action then Karnataka will lose its powers over the reservoirs. The state will not be able to exercise the right to decline water in times of distress, when a demand arises from Tamil Nadu. Out of 270.11 tmc ft water allocated to Karnataka, 17.22 tmc ft allotted for urban areas.
Related Civic Issues News:
Water shortage in Bangalore
Bannerghatta facing water shortage
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Bangalore, Cauvery basin, Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal, Mysore, Residents of Bangalore, Supreme Court, Water crisis in Bangalore, water requirement in Bangalore, Water shortage in Bangalore
